Mr. Shulman's Class Website - January 9 Resources

Reviewing the Institutions of Government

Directions: You should answer these questions with detailed answers. Each chapter has charts, graphs, and other additional material to help you answer the questions.

Unit 3: The Institutions of Government:

A. Chapter Six: The Legislative Branch

Describe the committee system in the House and Senate and how it affects the passage of legislation.
Discuss the demographics of the House and Senate and how this relates to the ideas of representation in the American system.
Explain the relationship of personal power in Congress and the issues of representation and constituency.
Describe the route a bill must take to be enacted into law.

B. Chapter Seven: The Executive Branch

Discuss contemporary theories of presidential power as theorized by modern political scientists.
Explain the constitutional and traditional roles the president plays in the political system.
Describe the structure and organization of the White House staff and Executive Offices.
Analyze the role of public perception as measured by polls on the governing decisions of the executive branch.
Describe the process of budget development and its role in elective politics.

C. Chapter Eight: The Bureaucracy

Explain the theoretical concepts underpinning bureaucracies.
Describe the organization of American bureaucracy.
Discuss the reform processes in American bureaucracy.
Explain the checks and balances on the bureaucracy by the three branches of government.
Analyze the relationship between the president and the bureaucracy.

D. Chapter Nine: The Judiciary

Describe the organization of the Federal Court system.
Analyze the importance of the Supreme Court under Marshall, Taney, Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist.
Analyze the effect of judicial restraint and judicial activism on the decisions of the Court.
Describe the positions of the modern Court on current issues.
Trace the modern cases that have changed the political and legal landscape in America.